Saturday, October 11, 2008

Numbers are pronounced differently for counting [number name (noun)] and for expressing the quantity (adjective). For example, for two (man)- the noun form is anyi and the adjective form is anye he.

The basic form of counting or number in Apatani is the one that is used for the man. The other forms are derived from this basic form with certain specific prefixes (dor, bar, per, gar etc.), based on the shape and size or the nature of a thing.

Object used for

to count (noun form)

to express quantity (adj. form)

man and also for animals or things when one is not very specific

kong [one]

ako or kone

anyi [two]

anye he

hing [three]

hing he

piilyi [four]

piilye he

yango [five]

yango he

khii [six]

khii he

kanu [seven]

kanu he

pinyi [eight]

pinye he

kowa [nine]

kowa he

alyan [ten]

alyan he

lekun [eleven]

alyan he la kone/ako

lenyi [twelve]

alyan he la anye he

lehing [thirteen]

alyan he la hing he

lepi [fourteen]

alyan he la piilye he

lengo [fifteen]

alyan he la yango he

lekhii [sixteen]

alyan he la khii he

kanu [seventeen]

alyan he la kanu he

pinyi [eight (after ten)]

alyan he la pinye he [eighteen]

kowa [nine (after ten)]

alyan he la kowa he [nineteen]

nyikhan [twenty]

nyikhan he

kong [one (after twenty)]

nyikhan he la kone/ ako [twenty one]

**anyi, hing etc

nyikhan he la anye he, nyikhan he la hing he etc.

hinkhan [thirty]

hinkhan he

alyan piilyi [forty]

alyan piilye he

alyan yango [fifty]

alyan yango he

alyan khii [sixty]

alyan khii he

kanu khang nge [seventy]

kanu khang nge

pinyi khang nge [eighty]

pinyi khang nge

kowa khang nge [ninety]

kowa khang nge

langn he la hinge nge / lan kun [one hundred]

lan nge

lan nyi [two hundred]

lan nye he

lan hing [three hundred]

lan hing he

lan pi [four hundred]

lan pe he

lan ngo [five hundred]

lan ngo he

lan khii [six hundred]

lan khii he

lan kanu [seven hundred]

lan kanu he

lan pinyi [eight hundred]

lan pinyi he

lan kowa [nine hundred]

lan kowa he

zare/ zarkun [one thousand]

zare

Note:

1. **From twenty onwards, for counting purpose, one to nine are repeated after tens without mentioning the name of the tens.

2. From ten onwards, for expressing the quantity, the numbers are in form of tens and ones e.g., alyan he la kone [eleven (ten and one)], nyikhan he la yango he [twenty five], alyan piilye he la hinge he [forty three] etc.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

There seems to exist a school of thought which believes in complete abstention of use of foreign words or words derived from other languages in Apatani. My view point is quite different in this context. I believe in freely using words of other languages when one feels that there is no Apatani word to convey what he intends to say or the word in Apatani does not exactly convey what he intends to say. So I feel it avoidable when some people use concocted Apatani words such as:

1.aro aya, alo aya etc, for greeting words- good morning, good day respectively;

1.In Apatani there is no direct words of greeting. We exchange our greetings by asking questions such as Noh in pa? [Where are you going?]; Knii mii du? [What are you doing?]; Da su da ha? [You are (simply) standing?]; Noh ho kii? [From where?] etc.One can use English or Hindi greeting words e.g, good morning or namaste etc., directly instead of using concocted words like aro aya.

2.There is no name for week days in Apatani. One can either use derived Assamese names or the English names for the same. Derived Assamese names which are more easily understood by older folks read like this: Humbar (Sunday), Mungolbar (Tuesday), Budhbar (Wednessday), Brishpatibar (Thursday), Hukurbar (Friday), Hunibar (Saturday) and Diyobar (Sunday).

3.The word ‘pinii’ stands for the creator in Apatani. To say pinii anii and pinii aba respectivly for Mother Mary and Jesus Christ is a misnomer. English equivalent word for pinii should be god.

4.There is no words for heaven and hell in Apatani. However, there are two worlds of dead or spirits in Apatani which are termed as talii myoko and neli myoko.Talii myoko is a world of dead where the spirit of the one who dies an unnatural death go and spend some time there before going to neli myoko. The neli myoko is the ultimate world of dead where the spirit of the one who dies a natural death go and the one who dies unnatural death go via talii myoko. If one has to use terms for heaven and hell, he should rather use English or Hindi terms such as heaven, hell, swarag, narag etc., as per ones convenience, instead of using concocted words which could be, at a time, sound very unnatural.

It is a fact that a language is a tool to express ones thought. So, the easier the better. English has thousands of Sanskrit words in its vocabulary illustrate the point that no language is complete in itself. So, one should not be reluctant to use borrowed or derived words from other languages. Having said that, one should always try use Apatani words while speaking or writing in Apatani; use foreign words or derived words only when there are no alternative Apatani words.

In my earlier post entitled ‘Ziro Daka Alyi Atan’, I have used some English words and derived words:

Readers, be feel free to give input as to which English words or derived words I should have replaced with Apatani words. Besides do let me know about the readability of the post. Punctuation used in the text may look unlike English pattern: there is comma after each word string.